“Dead” and Fred: George A. Romero’s connection to Mr. Rogers

I was very excited a couple of months ago when an editor asked if I had any interest in an interview with George A. Romero. The groundbreaking horror filmmaker was in town today to promote “Survival of the Dead,” his latest zombie movie which opens May 28.

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The “Dawn of the Dead” director is one of my three or four all-time favorite filmmakers — and I think his recent films have been great. (Here’s my review of “Diary of the Dead.”) But mostly I wanted to ask whether it was true that Romero, one of the most notoriously gory directors in motion picture history, worked on the set of “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” in the 1960s.

The bulk of my interview will run in the Sunday May 23 pink section of the Chronicle, but I’m publishing the Mr. Rogers outtake as a The Poop exclusive. These were my last questions, asked as the publicist was trying to pry Romero away to get his photo taken somewhere else. Please read to the shocking ending.

Q. You worked on “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood?”

A. It was my first job, man. Fred was the first guy who trusted me enough to hire me to actually shoot film.

Q. He seems to be regarded as a saint. What was your experience working with him?

A. He was a beautiful guy. He was the sweetest man I ever knew. What you see is what you get. That was Fred. In some ways he was still 10 years old. He was a wealthy guy, but very dedicated. He was a super wealthy cat — he could have just said “Forget about it.” But he was dedicated to educating kids and telling them “There’s nothing wrong with you. I like you just the way you are.”

Q. Did Fred Rogers help you as a filmmaker?

A. He was the first guy who would hire me. Everyone from Pittsburgh who I know from that period, who is still working in the business in any capacity, started with Fred. Fred was so supportive of people.

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George A. Romero.

Q. Who else did you work with?

A. Michael Keaton! When I was working there Michael Keaton was a grip on Fred’s show. Everyone who’s in the biz that came from that period of time started with Fred.

Q. Did Fred Rogers see any of your films?

A. He did. He saw “Night of the Living Dead” and “Dawn of the Dead.”

Q. What in the world did Fred Rogers think about “Dawn of the Dead”?

A. He said (Romero does a pretty good Fred Rogers imitation) “It’s a lot of fun, George.” He liked “Night” a lot, too. But he wouldn’t let me use Lady Aberlin. She was the actress I wanted for “Night of the Living Dead.”

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That was it for the interview. I was walking out the door at that point and said my goodbyes. But I’ll definitely sleep better tonight knowing that Mr. Rogers actually sat through a screening of “Dawn of the Dead.” I like that guy more and more …

Hoping to talk to Keaton in the next month or two to get his Fred Rogers recollections. (He voices the Ken doll in “Toy Story 3.”)

PETER HARTLAUB is the pop culture critic at the San Francisco Chronicle and founder of this parenting blog, which admittedly sometimes has nothing to do with parenting. You can follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/peterhartlaub.